I contacted them requesting a call as my problems were a bit complicated, but they don't do that. You get the girl with the text messages who just wants to schedule an appointment. "No Worries, Estimates are Free". Their website also advertises "Free Esttimates". Here on Yelp they advertise "Free In-Person Estimates".
So 2 guys show up at 11:05 for a 10-11am appointment; they were supposed to text me when they were on their way but the guy never got my number. As it turns out 1 guy was in training, so it was just the 1 tech. So we go into the backyard and turn on the sprinklers and they're just not working right. I"Not enough pressure" they said. Ok, well they weren't like this a month ago. So they can't even do an estimate because there isn't enough pressure; I'd have to call the Water Company. They checked a few valves and said the main water line valve wasn't open all the way. How did that happen?. After that there was some water so now I could start to point out the problem I called about. Buried heads,. The wrong kind of bubblers. Uneven coverage for my grass patches.
We checked all of th sections and went over the things I wanted done. Nobody wrote anything down or anything. So after just about exactly an hour they were off without giving me any indication of what would need to be done or the approximate cost.. As the tech gets into his vehicle he says "We'll send you an invoice". Really? An invoice for what?
So I figured they saved me the hassle of having to call the Water company so if they billed me $50 or something that would be fine. At 1:05pm (less than an hour after they left) I got a text from Square with a link to an invoice for $125. for a "Full System Diagnosis"
Ok, so how do you do a "Free Estimate" without diagnosing the problems? They didn't actually diagnose anything I just need some heads replaced. The only thing they did the Water Company would have done for free; and they couldn't even do an estimate without it. So they would have had to come back in a week or 2 weeks or however long the Water Co took to come out.
At 2:57pm I got a reminder text that the invoice was due. This was a bit fishy; they really expect someone to pay for the Free Estimate before they get the estimate? My feeling was that if they charge $125/hour for a service call that they weren't going to be "Affordable" The next morning they texted me an overdue notice for the invoice on the Free Estimate. At this point I blocked the texts and decided I wasn't going to do business with them
So here's the deal. You don't get to play the Free Estimate card and then charge for a full service call if you happen to tweak something while doing the estimate. BMW tells you that if you want them to diagnose the problem with your car, it's going to cost $250. If a service guy comes to give you a "Free Estimate" and its' something simple he can fix while there, he'll tell. you what he's going to charge you. The problem here is that if they told you upfront that they charge $125 for a diagnosis, their business would dry up like a Las Vegas lawn.
My feeling here is that they knew I wasn't going to go for whatever overpriced services they offered on the estimate (if they ever did an estimate), so they might as well try to get paid for a service call. Big Whiff on that one. If they told me they were going to charge me $125 to do something that the Water Company would do for free, I'd tell them to take a hike. Plus, the sprinklers were working before, so how did the valve in the street get turned down?
Note that just because someone sends you a bill it doesn't make you obligated to pay it. I agreed to no charges. The visit was under the guise of a "Free Estimate". They had no basis to charge me. If they happen to make a tweak that's helpful, they get "Good Will". Maybe someone feels obligated to give them the business. Or maybe someone will say something nice about them on Yelp.
I also had to re-program my timer because the settings he punched in were contrary to what the water company allows for my kind of heads.
UPDATE: It's been more than2 weeks and I never did get an estimate. No contact of any kind. I guess if enough people pay the $125 they don't have to do any actual work.
Comment Policy
Add Comment